Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 268

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 268
The Pretense
Ian regretted his decision the moment he and Berik stepped into the alley. It was because of Berik, who hummed a cheerful tune as he walked ahead, peering curiously at everything around him.
Should I have brought Xiaoxi instead? Berik gazed with interest at everything, and when someone handed him dried leaves, he accepted them gratefully.
“Ian, look at this place. Hehe.”
“Berik. Throw that away.”
“Huh? But I got it for free?”
“Before I have to throw you away too.”
As Ian pulled the hood of his robe over his head and muttered, Berik flicked the leaves away without hesitation. Immediately, those watching them picked up what he’d discarded and shoved it into their nostrils.
A drug inhaled through deep breaths. Distributed freely in small amounts to create addiction, a scheme to ensure they could never escape.
Ian clicked his tongue inwardly and surveyed his surroundings.
‘It’s larger than I expected.’
I thought a private gambling den would mean just one space. But this entire alley had deteriorated into a slum.
When games weren’t running, it was abandoned. But on days like this, signs appeared everywhere. Unlike ordinary shops, the evidence was the flags with symbols planted throughout.
‘Yet individually, each operation is small. There seems to be a central gambling house and faction supporting this street.’
True to the Tavern Owner’s word about there being much to see, this place was a festival of sorts. Those intoxicated by drugs lay half-sprawled, shouting loudly, and the ground was slick with spilled alcohol. Like children splashing through puddles, the mad rolled and laughed upon it.
‘Both Jin and I realized he was Timothy. He’s even naturalized to Bariel. Regardless of the circumstances, that would be difficult without positive feelings toward Bariel. There’s a possibility he visited Bariel personally. But why, of all places, here?’
Ian covered his nose and mouth with his sleeve as he continuously wandered the street. Timothy was enormous and had a rather intense appearance. Even passing by once more, I could recognize him instantly.
“Excuse me!”
“Ugh….”
Whoosh!
Berik swept away the newspapers covering the sleeping figures and checked their faces, drawing even more attention with his already conspicuous appearance.
Ian grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and pulled him deeper into the alley. The atmosphere inside was entirely different. The population density was higher, and it was chaotic. Rather than walking, they were being jostled and pushed by the crowd.
As the two maintained a certain distance while moving, Ian spotted a head jutting out abruptly among the people.
‘It’s Timothy.’
So it was Timothy! He chewed on a cigarette while constantly looking around. He was identical to the portraits Naum and Romandro had shown. Seeing him in person made his expression seem even more menacing, but regardless.
Just as Ian was searching for him, he too seemed to be searching for someone. Ian gestured to Berik with a signal.
“Berik. There. Follow him.”
“Move it, move it. Shoulder-check me and you’re dead!”
“What’s the rush?”
“Hehe. Why don’t you play a round of cards with us?”
“Get out of the way, you bastards!”
“Kyaaah! Don’t push!”
Berik swam through the crowd toward Timothy and watched as he opened a green door and descended into the basement.
“Berik, over there!”
“Yes, yes. Going now.”
“Don’t approach. Just observe.”
Berik took the lead, and Ian followed his path, running. Before descending the stairs, he asked a man sitting in a chair beside the building, chewing on jerky.
“Say, does this building have another entrance?”
“Why? Planning to escape?”
“It would be wise to answer the questions asked of you.”
“…There’s only one. The back door is blocked by cargo.”
Tap tap tap!
The moment I heard his answer, I descended the stairs. A single dim, worn light fixture illuminated the corridor. The musty smell was overwhelming at first, but I soon realized something else was mixed in—a metallic scent. Quite unpleasant.
‘Ah.’
The source of my displeasure wasn’t far away. The instant I reached the corridor, I pressed my lips together tightly.
The gambling den was packed with people absorbed in card games, and caged in iron bars suspended from the ceiling were people. Some dangled their feet through the bars, while others lay listlessly inside.
‘Illegal slave trafficking.’
The slave markets held in Bariel operated strictly under state authority, with designated periods and designated zones that had to be observed. However, the taxes attached to such transactions were exorbitant, causing both buyers and sellers to avoid them.
Yet allowing year-round market operations wasn’t feasible either, given the risk that the already rampant human trafficking and illegal enslavement would only worsen.
There were countless considerations alongside security instability. This was one of Bariel’s problems that I acknowledged.
“You crazy bastard! Can’t you watch where you’re going?”
“No, I already apologized. Damn it.”
“An apology fixes everything? You made me spill my cards!”
“I’ve never seen you before. Where did you come from?”
“Like you’d understand if I told you? This is so annoying. You reek.”
Pow!
By the time I recognized Berik’s voice and turned my head, it was already too late. A man was throwing a heavy punch at Berik, who simply backpedaled to dodge the attack.
Crash!
Bang! Clatter!
“Oof. Sorry, sorry.”
“What? Go fight over there! We’re in the middle of a game.”
“Is there no staff here? Staff, come out!”
“The atmosphere in this place is damn, a complete mess!”
“Hey, red head! Come over here and knock these over too!”
“Are you joking? I’m winning, what nonsense are you spouting!”
Boom! Bang!
He wasn’t attacking, only dodging, yet somehow every table around him kept getting overturned. As the commotion spiraled beyond control, I pressed my forehead. Foolishly, by backpedaling to escape, he kept bumping into things. Berik, really.
‘Where’s Timothy?’
I quickly scanned the gambling den while leaving Berik to his chaos. He observed the commotion for a moment, but seeming uninterested, he simply stared at the ceiling.
Certain. He was searching for someone.
‘But a slave?’
Timothy wasn’t in his homeland, so what business would he have searching for a slave in a foreign country? He whispered something to a staff member while covering his mouth, then pulled over a chair and lit a fresh cigarette. By then, he seemed interested in Berik’s commotion.
Then our gazes collided head-on in mid-air. For the first time, I realized I was in the same place and time as Naum’s ancestor.
‘Ah.’
I hadn’t known—he had Naum’s nose and mouth shape exactly.
When I didn’t avert my gaze, his thick eyebrows twitched. As if asking what I was staring at. Timothy exhaled thick smoke and scratched at his severed ear.
‘Does he know me? He doesn’t seem like the type to be in a place like this. He doesn’t appear to be a foreign nobleman either….’
Timothy knew that Bariel’s new Magic Department Minister was young, blonde-haired, and green-eyed, but he didn’t immediately make the connection. The situation and location were all wrong, and he’d never seen a portrait.
In fact, it hadn’t been long since I assumed the ministerial position, and right after came the internal strife, followed by all manner of upheaval that swept through the Imperial Palace. Even the citizens of Bariel itself, let alone foreign press, found my existence unfamiliar.
Scrape, scrape!
I turned my head at the low, grating sound of metal bars. The establishment’s employees surrounding Berik were driving him forward with skewers caked in dried blood.
“Over there, over there!”
“Tch, not even worth one punch.”
“That bastard just dodges—he won’t even counterattack. Go ahead and stab him! There, look at him causing trouble after taking who-knows-what drug!”
“This is driving me crazy, seriously!”
Berik sent me a distress signal. If I killed all of them, wouldn’t there be no witnesses? Wouldn’t it be fine if I just eliminated them all?
But I shook my head firmly. Aside from the employees, there were easily over a hundred ordinary people watching. Kill them all? That made no sense.
Berik was driven toward an empty space. The moment his back touched the wall, someone shouted.
“That’s it! Pull him up!”
Screech! Crash!
An iron chain snared his ankle like a noose and his body shot toward the ceiling in an instant. They pushed him into the iron cage with poles as skillfully as hunters trapping a beast. Only Berik’s black sword lay abandoned on the floor. This wasn’t their first time doing this.
“Whoa! What the hell is this? Let me down! Release me! You bastards!”
“Shut up. As of today, you’re done for. This will be your last day living as a human. If you took drugs, you should just sleep quietly.”
“He’s got quite a bit of strength for someone so spry.”
“Right? We could make a good profit selling him.”
“Well then, now that that’s settled, everyone get back to gambling. Don’t worry about it, yeah? Let’s take a shot at life.”
“Clean this up. I’m going to smoke a cigarette.”
…Should I pretend not to notice? I stood with my arms crossed, deeply conflicted. He wasn’t the type to die from being captured, and I suspected he’d find his way home on his own anyway.
Perhaps sensing my hesitation, Berik suddenly panicked and shook the iron bars with his hands.
“Iiiiiaaaan!!”
“Oh no.”
“You were going to ignore me! Hey! Ow ow ow!”
The employees cleaning the tables turned their gaze toward me. As if they hadn’t realized I had companions. They looked me up and down with menacing expressions.
“Is he with you? This one looks fine at least. Guess he didn’t take any drugs. If you don’t want to see him get hurt, cut ties and get out.”
“Or should we demand compensation? No money? Then you’ll end up like him. You look delicate though—actually, that might be more profitable for us.”
I nodded silently. I could feel Timothy watching me, so it seemed better to respond appropriately.
“My friend has been discourteous. If you demand payment, I will settle it.”
“Payment? How much do you have?”
“How much do you want?”
“One hundred gold coins.”
“Puhahahaha!”
They spouted an amount equivalent to ten years of a laborer’s wages. It meant they had no intention of making a deal.
What I currently possessed was two gold coins and five silver coins. If I gave that up here, these bastards would take the money and still not back down.
“Hey, you pathetic fools! You’re all finished now. Ian is seriously pissed! Do you know how terrifying he is? Ian, you’re going to save me, right? Right?”
“….”
Berik shouted with bravado, but I simply smiled instead of answering. If Timothy stayed here, I would stay and match his actions, but if he left, I would follow him.
Berik banged his head against the iron bars, raving. Honestly, someone like me cleaning up this place would be child’s play, wouldn’t it?
Crash! Bang bang!
“No no no! Ian, if you leave me here, I swear—! Hey!”
At that moment, Timothy was being guided by an Employee—the same one who had covered his mouth while speaking earlier. Timothy frowned and withdrew a gold coin from his inner pocket, then settled back into his seat. He didn’t seem like he’d be leaving anytime soon.
“…I understand, Berik. Be quiet.”
Ian watched this and likewise retrieved a gold coin. He flicked it lightly toward the nearby Employee as an instruction.
Ting!
“Oh ho, you’ve got some money? A gold coin comes right out?”
“That’s not enough! Hahaha!”
“…How absurd.”
“What, what?”
“Stop your noise and bring chips. I’ll do my best to make as many as you want.”
Ian sat at an empty table nearby and gestured. The people enjoying the game glanced at Ian, but that was all. Once seated here, whether noble or vagrant, everyone received cards fairly dealt.
Ian tapped the table.
“I just said I’m playing as a customer.”
Having declared himself a ‘customer’ before everyone’s eyes, they couldn’t openly stop him. Instead, the moment Ian stepped outside, they would bare their fangs. They’d learned he had money without companions—how could they let him leave as is?
* * *
“Our side wins, I’m on Ian’s side. Fight on, fight! Everyone else has garbage hands, but Ian gets the good ones!”
This was the whole story of Berik hanging from the ceiling and singing.
Chips piled five times higher than at the start. Ian toyed with them while repeatedly glancing toward Timothy. He sipped his drink and continued watching the ceiling.
If I had to guess, he seemed to be searching for a specific slave. He kept repeating conversations with Employees and waiting.
“Come on, deal again! Until this guy runs out of energy!”
“Is this really your first time? Why are you so good?”
“…I’ve played before. I just said this place was new to me.”
Ian tossed a couple of chips to the dealer as a tip while muttering. How much longer would this go on? Jin was waiting in the Park. Of course, if it got too late, Romandro would handle it.
The Employees who had confined Berik kept watching Ian. Each time Ian won money, they flashed subtle smiles. They had no doubt that Ian’s money would soon be theirs.
The cards were dealt again. Just as Ian was about to continue the uninteresting game.
Whoosh.
Timothy sat beside him. Despite his enormous frame, he made almost no sound. Ian regarded him with an indifferent gaze. The more I see him, the more he resembles Naum.
“Your name is Ian, right?”
“That’s correct.”
It’s over. Ian covered his cards, signaling his surrender. Forged identification or not—Berik had been shouting Ian’s name so loudly, what could be done? The consoling part was that Ian was a common name, and those intoxicated by alcohol and drugs couldn’t think straight.
“I’m curious if you’re the Ian I know.”
Timothy chewed on a short cigarette and half-turned his body. It was a gesture asking Ian to remove his robe and show his hair. Ian refused but smiled in agreement.
“I was also curious whether you’re the Timothy I know. I think we should move to a different table.”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————